High School Writing Standards

The Common Core State Standards Initiative divides the high school writing curriculum into two sections, one for ninth and tenth grade and another for eleventh and twelfth grade. In each grade level group, there are four "domains": text types and purposes, productions and distribution of writing, research to build and present knowledge, and range of writing. While the standards in both grade level groups are very similar, there are some notable differences.

Text Types and Purposes
In high school, students are expected to write a variety of assignments, including arguments, informative or explanatory texts, as well as narratives about real or imagined events. All high school grade levels are expected to produce clear, informative, organized writing with appropriate cited sources. Sources should have credibility and be from a variety of mediums. In narrative writing, students need to be able to use sensory details and correct sequencing to build a coherent whole and create tone.

Production and Distribution
Students throughout high school are responsible for producing clear and coherent writing which is appropriate for the purpose and audience for which it is written. They must demonstrate a firm grasp of English grammar and conventions. High school students must also work to develop and strengthen their writing by utilizing the writing process. Revising, editing, rewriting, or trying new approaches should be focuses of this process. High school students are also expected to use the internet to produce and publish pieces of writing.

Research to Build and Present Knowledge
Both grade level groups focus on conducting short as well as extended research projects and gathering relevant information in order to support analysis, reflection and research.

The differences between early and late high school emerge within the standard that addresses drawing evidence from sources. In the ninth and tenth grade, students are responsible for analyzing how authors treat specific themes in their work as well as evaluating arguments within a text to determine the validity of statements and evidence. In eleventh and twelfth grades, students must demonstrate a knowledge of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American literature and must evaluate the reasoning in works of public advocacy, for example, presidential addresses.

Range of Writing
According to the Common Core, students in both grade level groups, ninth through tenth and eleventh through twelfth, are faced with the same expectations in their expected range of writing. Student must write routinely over both short and extended time frames for a range of audiences and purposes.